An embarrassment of riches: Israel Folau to Toulon?

Quade Cooper, Ma’a Nonu, Salesi Ma’afu, Charles Ollivon, Samu Manoa, Jonathan Pelissie, Paul O’Connell and now Israel Folau? Just when you thought the European champions couldn’t get any better, Top 14 champions Toulon are about to get stronger.

The French club are looking to add Wallaby fullback Israel Folau to next season’s squad according to reports from French newspaper Midi Olympique.

With Folau’s contract up with the ARU at the end of this year’s Rugby World Cup in England, Folau could end up following fellow Wallaby Quade Cooper to the south of France if he elects not to to re-sign in Australia.

Of course, every time Folau’s contract nears an end, it seems like just about every other team from just about every other sport makes an inquiry into Israel’s future, with the NRL only too happy to pounce on an opportunity to lure back one of their own.

If there’s one thing you can be sure of with an Israel Folau expiring contract, it’s that contact will be made from the NRL with Canterbury, Parramatta and the Gold Coast all reportedly expressing an interest in securing Folau’s return to rugby league.

Folau is believed to be one of the highest earning Wallabies in Australia, but the ARU may not be able to keep him in Super Rugby for much longer if big-spending Toulon decide to come knocking.

Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal has a long, decorated history of bringing top international talent to the south of France and if the recent signing of Munster’s Paul O’Connell is anything to go by, Folau’s days with the ARU could be numbered. It’s not very often, if ever, that Boudjellal goes after a player and doesn’t get what he wants, and given Folau’s stated interest to play in Japan a move to France is quite realistic.

On paper the move doesn’t really make a lot of sense given the fact Leigh Halfpenny seems to have Toulon’s number 15 jersey locked down, but Boudjellal and the Welsh fullback have had an interesting history with reports surfacing earlier this season that Boudjellal threatened to terminate Halfpenny’s contract due to the Welshman’s inability to stay injury free.

He decided against it, but there does seem to be some friction between Boudjellal and Halfpenny’s camp, so if the reports from France are true, we could very well see Folau shown the front door while Halfpenny is shown the back.

Of course if that was to be the case, Halfpenny would receive a hefty compensation package given the fact he’s on more than $1.2 million per season at Toulon, while there is also a possibility that Toulon may decide to keep both players on their books.

If Folau did sign with Toulon, however, it’d be more than likely that Halfpenny would depart given the salary needed to secure Folau. Toulon are rich, but they’re not going to pay Halfpenny $1.2 million to ride the pine while they pay Folau even more to start ahead of him.

If I was a Waratahs and Wallabies supporter I’d probably start to worry as it’s not the first time we’ve seen Folau leave his team for a big money contract elsewhere, but I suppose that all depends how much you trust French media. Usually I’d think this sort of rumour would be reserved to football transfer windows, but given the fact that it involves Boudjellal and Toulon, it does tend to at least make you consider the possibility.

Folau could potentially play for Toulon if he followed Bernard Foley’s suit and signed a flexi-contract with the ARU, which allows a player to play one season offshore as part of a long-term commitment to Australian rugby. But it would mean he would miss out on one full domestic season as well as only being able to play one season in France.

It could be done, but if Folau was going to sign a flexi-contract it would make a lot more sense to play in Japan where the season runs from August to February, rather than in France where it runs from August to June.

History has shown us that if Folau wants to leave all you can do is ask him to close the door on his way out, but the fact that Leigh Halfpenny is still at the French giants could be Australian rugby’s saving grace.

If Folau wants to play in Japan it’s a very reasonable possibility that he could still play for the Waratahs and for the Wallabies, but if he wants to play in France you might as well say au revoir, cause the ARU will just not be able to compete financially to keep him on home soil.